Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, did fine in the ridiculous Fox News 2024 Republican Primary presidential debate.
There was clearly a concerted effort by the participants in the debate to do that which former President Donald J. Trump has been doing for months: spending an inordinate amount of time ignoring Florida’s impressive conservative governor while taking potshots at the governor periodically.
But the strategy of ignore and harass on the periphery has done little to stop the DeSantis 2024 Campaign. If anything, it made the governor stronger.
The worst possible outcome for the much-touted Republican alternative to Donald Trump in 2024 would have been for him to flop. The most that the Trump Campaign can now do is point to a silly video of DeSantis gingerly raising his hand as to whether he’d support the forty-fifth president, should Trump become the GOP nominee next year.
Had it been me, I’d have not raised my hand. I’d have slapped Fox News’ Brett Baer and Martha McCollum for even asking such a juvenile question (they followed that doozie up with a sillier question about UFOs with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie).
Nevertheless, DeSantis’ debate performance was solid—and a plurality of polls taken in the aftermath of the debate indicate that it was Florida’s governor who walked away looking like the big winner. Stephen K. Bannon routinely refers to the other Republicans running in the 2024 primary as the “Keebler elves” (of course, he includes DeSantis in that crowd).
That epithet is apt save for DeSantis. Because the other candidates spent their limited time bickering amongst each other, defending America’s open-ended commitment to Ukraine, blatantly plagiarizing Barack Obama, or simply talking about how great Donald Trump is, DeSantis was able to look like the bigger man.
Sure, he did not get to speak nearly as much as I would have assumed he would have, because there was a clear attempt by everyone involved to not engage with the governor directly. But the times he spoke, DeSantis was clear, concise, and forceful. Everyone on that stage, when they did (rarely) talk about actual policy, spoke about what they would do as president.
Ron DeSantis Will Make America Like Florida
DeSantis’ line was perfect: he simply reminded audiences that he doesn’t have to make promises about the future. As governor of the fourth-largest economy in America (Florida would be the fourteenth largest economy in GDP terms if it were an independent country), DeSantis already did in Florida so much of what the other Keebler Elves were promising to do.
Therefore, it’d be a lot easier for DeSantis, who has real governing experience, to achieve the herculean tasks of cleaning up the Administrative State, regenerating our ailing economy, and fixing our broken southwestern border compared to any of the others on stage that night. None of the other candidates running have any real record of accomplishing these goals. They’re just empty suits.
The Trump Factor
Now that former President Donald J. Trump has turned himself into the authorities in Fulton County, GA, the former president is enjoying a bevy of free press and an increase of support. This was to be expected. In fact, it is likely that Trump manipulated the timing of his arrest to come just a day after the Republican Primary debate precisely because the other candidates—notably DeSantis—are enjoying a real bounce in popularity.
Without Trump’s presence on the debate stage, it allowed for the other candidates to enjoy a moment in the limelight they would have otherwise not had. Vivek Ramaswamy spent that time carrying water for Trump and coming across as a real jerk.
But DeSantis laid out a simple campaign theme. It was a theme not predicated upon the past. The theme was not that “America is in decline” but that “decline is a choice.” Under a Ron DeSantis administration, we will not choose decline. As Florida’s governor, DeSantis was able to give voters a preview of what that American renewal would look like.
It would be a vibrant economy in a truly free land, with strong borders, safety, and normalcy. That’s why DeSantis won the debate and that’s why his favorability rating has increased since the debate.
Up next, Ron DeSantis brings his excellent campaign organization to bear in Iowa. Already Trump’s support in that important state is softening, meaning there is ample time for DeSantis to leapfrog Trump and get ahead of him there, generating great momentum for his campaign. Trump’s campaign has peaked. DeSantis’ is just getting started.
About the Author
A 19FortyFive Senior Editor, Brandon J. Weichert is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, as well as at American Greatness and the Asia Times. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower (Republic Book Publishers), Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life (Encounter Books), and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy (July 23). Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
From the Vault
Donald Trump May Have a New Problem: Melania Trump
Barack Obama Scolds Americans for Offering ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ During Maui Tragedy
Donald Trump Keeps Making ‘Chilling’ Threats That Could Land Him in Jail
